Over med-high heat add enough oil to coat the bottom of a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed (and oven-safe, with a tight fitting lid) pan and just as the oil begins to smoke, add the shanks, browning them on as much as their surface as you can.

When you’ve completely browned the outside of the shanks, remove and put aside

Add another splash of oil and add the garlic celery, onion and carrot. Cook until these are softened. (About 10 minutes)

Add tomato paste and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add wine and broth then bring to a simmer while scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to remove all the great stuff on the bottom

Add the shanks back to the pan and cover.

Place the whole thing in the oven for at least three to four hours but as long as six (especially if your 8 month-old baby is about to go to bed and you want to be able to enjoy this great meal.)

This week Eric and I went to the Easton Wintertime Farmers Market at Simpson Springs. We brought $100 and got plenty to eat for the week. We spent $30 on wine from Running Brook Vineyards and the rest of the $70 went to groceries. Here’s what I can recall for items and prices:

– Apples ($2.99/lb)

– Dill pickles ($8)

– Lettuce $2/head (we bought four since we were having some family over for dinner Saturday evening)

We also went to the grocery store for the first time in awhile. We buy all of our paper and household goods through Amazon.com’s Subscribe and Save, and I have a pretty good stockpile of rice, beans and other pantry staples, so there hasn’t been a need to hit the grocery store. Since we were having a dinner party, and wanted to make chicken Parmesan we needed some supplies, most notably chicken. I hope to be in a position someday to be able to throw a dinner party from our own backyard, but I’m not there yet!